Spoilers: Meridian

Jack had spent the last few hours by Daniel's bedside, wishing there was something he could do to help his friend. He had returned to Kelowna hoping to clear Daniel's name from the accusations of sabotage their government was making, and he had tried to tell Daniel how much he meant to him, but he got the feeling he hadn't been successful in either endeavor. He wasn't good at talking, he lived by his actions.

Now, finally, after so many agonizing hours of watching his best friend suffer from the radiation poisoning there was something he could do to show Daniel that they really were like brothers. He could feel the healing warmth in his body and knew that, with Jacob helping, he would be able to heal Daniel completely.

He was just about to step forward to Daniel's bedside when suddenly he was swept away to the Gate Room, or rather, a dream state of the Gate Room, with Daniel standing there, alive and healthy.

"Daniel?" he asked warily, unsure what was going on.

"Yeah." Daniel looked like he needed to say something but couldn't figure out how to begin.

Jack could feel the healing powers cascading through him, anxious to be released. "Did you want something?"

"Yeah. Tell Jacob to stop."

"Why?" And, Hell no!

"Because I'm ready to move on."

"You're just giving up?" Jack asked in disbelief, wondering if he was too late.

"No. No, I'm not giving up, believe me. You remember Oma?"

Jack glanced at the woman standing silently at the top of the ramp to the open wormhole and watched as she transformed into a white energy being and disappeared through the Stargate. "Sure."

"I think I can do more this way," Daniel told him, his eyes pleading with Jack to understand. "It's what I want. I have to go now. Everything's going to be fine. Please, Jack. Tell Jacob to stop."

Jack swallowed, staring at Daniel as he went over his options, wishing he could just take command and tell Daniel what to do. But he had to give Daniel the choice, even if Daniel still chose to leave, no matter how much it would hurt Jack to lose him. He owed it to his friend.

"I can heal you." He looked up into Daniel's eyes, which were shimmering with unshed tears as he was essentially saying goodbye to Jack. "I can finish the job Jacob has started. If it's a choice between this…" he waved at the Stargate, "…and death, then I'm giving you a third option."

Daniel shook his head slightly in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Jack took a single step closer to Daniel, his body still in the infirmary also copying his movement. "I cured my brother of leukemia, Daniel. I don't know how, but it's always been a part of me, and I feel it in me now. Trust me. If you truly believe you can do more with Oma, then I'll tell Jacob to stop. I'll help you move on. But if you want to stay, with us…then I can restore you to full health. I can make it so you can continue your work on SG-1."

There was so much more he could have said. He could have reminded Daniel that he was the conscience of SG-1 and without him there would be nobody to argue and fight for the peaceful way, the non-military approach, the scientific exploration. But that would be a lie, because despite what a terrific pain in the ass Daniel had been over the last five years, Jack really had learned to admire him, and because of that, usually he already knew what Daniel's opinion would be and acted on it.

He could have begged Daniel not to leave him behind, but Jack had never resorted to emotional blackmail and he wasn't about to start. Whatever Daniel's decision, he wanted his friend to have a clear conscience without being tormented by feelings of guilt for moving on. He knew what it was like. He never even got to say goodbye to David before running away, running to what he believed would be a better future.

Daniel could hardly believe what Jack was saying to him, yet he could also feel the truth in his words. Jack could save his life, if he wished to continue down that path. He thought about what Oma had said. One cannot reach enlightenment by running from death. Was this really what he wanted?

As Daniel made his choice, Jack thought 'Daniel will be alive, that's all that really matters.'

--

David slammed the door to his temporary apartment as he stormed inside, twisting out of his jacket and throwing it onto the couch, followed by his keys and his wallet which bounced off the cushions due to Newton's Third Law of Motion.

How fitting. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. He didn't believe in Jack, now Jack didn't believe in him. Or maybe didn't want him as a brother anymore, same thing.

He couldn't even blame Jack for that, either. Whatever had happened between them David knew it was his fault for not standing up for his brother, for letting their father manipulate him into believing that Jack wasn't real. How could he ever believe that? How could Dad do that?

He felt the fury rise within him as he picked up the phone and punched in the numbers, but stopped before the last digit was entered and slammed down the receiver. He needed to calm down so he could start the conversation rationally, before degenerating into the growling, irate, temper tantrum he knew was inevitable.

He sat down on the couch and forced himself to calm down, controlling his breathing and relaxing the tense muscles in his back and shoulders. This time when he dialed the phone and heard it ringing on the other end he was composed and rational.

His stepmother answered and he asked if he could speak with his Dad, avoiding the usual pleasantries. He wasn't in the mood.

"Hey, David, I'm glad you called," his father's voice, roughened with age, sounded decidedly cheerful. "So did you get that job you were talking about last time? Something with the Air Force, right?"

David smiled grimly at the perfect opening. "Yes, I did. Turns out I used to know the man who's second-in-command of the base."

"Really? Who?" He could hear the smile in Dad's voice.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill."

The other end was silent.

"You lied to me," he stated calmly, his tone more chilling and harsh than if he had shouted at the top of his lungs. "You made me believe he wasn't real. How could you do that to me? How could you do that to Jack?"

"You don't understand," his father whispered.

"You're right, I don't, and I hope I never do. He was your son!"

"You are my son."

"I wish I wasn't. You played my ignorance, you made a fool out of me and you cost me my brother! Did you think he wasn't good enough, is that it? I remember the way you treated him, and I'm ashamed I let you get away with it. And then you just pretended like he never existed, you made me think that I was crazy, that the most important person in my life was merely a hallucination. Do you have any idea what that did to me? What it did to Jack? And for what? He saved my life!"

"I know! I realize that now, and if I had this to do all over again I would have done things a whole lot differently. But by the time I figured it out…I'd been lying to you for so long I just couldn't tell you the truth."

"So you decided that lying to me my entire life was the safer course of action. Yes, that sounds like a wise idea."

"It wasn't like that."

"I don't care. I don't care what was going through your head when you made the conscious decision to deny the life of your son. I only want one thing from you. Jack tried to get in touch with me after he left, didn't he?"

His father didn't reply for a long time.

"Didn't he?" David demanded angrily.

"Yes. He sent letters." There was another long pause. "A lot of them."

David's head dropped, holding his forehead in his hand. "How could you do that to us?"

"David."

"Just…Stay away from my family." He sighed heavily as he hung up the phone.

His suspicions confirmed, though he had already known the truth in his heart, now he just had to explain things to Jack. Special Forces trained Colonel Jack O'Neill. That shouldn't be too hard.

--

Four days later

Jack leaned against the door, bracing his hands on either side, his head bowed down between his shoulders. This should be the easiest thing in the world to do, yet he couldn't raise his hand to knock on the door. He'd been standing there for five minutes now, trying to find the words he wanted to say but knowing that there were no guidelines for what he was about to do. His team couldn't help him out of this one, nobody could. Except, maybe, the man on the other side of the door.

He could do this. He had to do this.

Rolling his eyes at his childish reluctance he knocked on the door, shoving his hands into his pockets as he stepped back slightly, trying to adopt the casual demeanor that was his greatest defense. He heard movement inside and saw a light turn on before he heard the click of the lock and the door was slowly opened.

David stared at him, clearly surprised by his presence. "Hello."

"Hi," Jack replied, his expression carefully blank.

David studied him for a moment before stepping aside and gesturing for him to come inside, unable to think of anything to say. Over the last four days he had been going over and over what he could possibly say to Jack to get the younger man to accept him as his brother, despite what had happened all those years ago. Was Jack finally taking the initiative for both of them?

Jack stepped inside, glancing around the room without any real interest before turning back to David as he found the words he needed to say, the ones he had been searching for ever since he saw his brother in that lecture hall six years ago. "I think we might be brothers," he announced abruptly, confidently, his voice only slightly cracking at the end as he battled to keep his emotions under control.

David, unaccustomed to the art of concealing his feelings, felt tears in his eyes at the impact of those words, burned into his memory even after so many years. "Half-brothers," he corrected as he had the first time they met, his voice barely above a whisper.

Jack looked at him, his expression softening, but it wasn't the vulnerable face of that little seven year-old boy that just wanted a place to belong, and it wasn't the nonchalant body language of the boy who was putting up a front to prevent himself from getting hurt. It was the demeanor of a man who always stood up after he'd been kicked down, who never accepted that he was second best, despite what everybody told him. This was Colonel Jack O'Neill, American hero, protector of Earth, a man who always put others before himself yet still knew that his own life was worth living.

And just like that, David realized it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

"Half-brothers is still brothers," they said simultaneously, and this time, they took the first step together.

Author's Note: I know, I messed with canon which was something I was trying to explain rather than modify, but by the time I got to this point there didn't seem to be any other alternative. If Jack could heal his brother I figured he'd find a way to help Daniel, the question is whether or not Daniel decided to ascend. I haven't had a lot of time to work on this story, so the next chapter might take another week, just so you know. I pretty much had to dig this one out with tooth and nail, I hate rewriting episodes but it was necessary.

I write for me, I post for you. Read for you, review for me. Thanks to everybody who has reviewed so far, they are greatly (ENORMOUSLY) appreciated.

-Bixata